Myjoyonline
Residents of Agogo in the Asante Akyim North District of the Ashanti region are bracing up to return fire on Fulani herdsmen in the area who they accuse of terrorizing them.
The residents also accused the herdsmen of murders, rapes and constant harassment of the indigenes.
Dampened by the seeming delay by government in responding to their plights, the residents hit the streets of Agogo on Friday to register their displeasure about the vicious activities of the Fulani herdsmen.
A Spokesperson for the Agogo Residents Association, Kingsley Obeng, told Joy FM’s Top Story that if the government fails to act within two weeks, they will take the law into their own hands, swearing, they will kick the Fulani herdsmen from the area.
“If by two weeks time the government does not come to our aid we shall take the law into our hands and do whatever we like with the herdsmen… We shall fight them, we are also having guns.”
He said they were certain that most of the atrocities committed in the area were done by the Fulani herdsmen.
Mr Obeng said when they met chiefs of the area, they were told that the Fulani herdsmen have overstayed their welcome and would no longer be tolerated in the area.
He opined that the Fulanis were given up to 29th March by the chiefs to leave the area because they have “violated” their part of the agreement with the chiefs, which allows them to live on their land, but “up till now they are still here, killing us and doing all sort of things they like. That is why we are angry now.”
He said they are also not interested in going to court because the law is cumbersome, and would delay justice for them.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Interior, Dr Benjamin Kumbuor cautioned the residents against taking the laws into their own hands, maintaining, that such move would “be a very dangerous step”.
“I would want to caution, and very, very firmly that any citizen in this country who takes the law into his hands, it is the responsibility of the security agencies, constitutionally, to protect lives and property.”
He said the government is aware of the “complicated” situation in the area as it works around the clock, carrying out its responsibility, to maintain peace and order there.
“[The issue in Agogo] is one that is a very large mix bag of so many things. It involves emotions, it involves legal question, it involves social cohesion, it involves international rule. It is a very complicated area.”
Inasmuch as he sympathized with the residents, Dr Kumbuor also asked the residents to be cautious of rushing into conclusion, thus attributing every single crime in the area to the Fulani herdsmen.
He said while the government reviews the situation there, the joint military/police team dispatched to the area would be maintained
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Nigerians Fear 'killer phone number'
Nigeria's authorities have been forced to reassure the public that a mobile phone number cannot kill, after rumours were spread by text messages.
Viral text messages had warned that several people had died when they answered calls with the ID 09141.
The regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission, said this was "unimaginable" and "unscrupulous persons" were spreading fear.
'Gullible people'
The text messages gave conflicting accounts of the number of people killed when they answered the call - some put the death toll at seven while others put it at 10.
"Technically, it is not possible for such a thing to happen. It is therefore unimaginable that somebody will die while receiving a call," commission spokesman Reuben Muoka said.
"It is only very gullible people that will believe such a rumour."
Other messages that have caused panic in the past include claims that acid rain from seasonal dust storms can burn people alive, the AP news agency reports.
Poor education and superstitious beliefs lead some Nigerians to take the messages seriously, correspondents say
Viral text messages had warned that several people had died when they answered calls with the ID 09141.
The regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission, said this was "unimaginable" and "unscrupulous persons" were spreading fear.
'Gullible people'
The text messages gave conflicting accounts of the number of people killed when they answered the call - some put the death toll at seven while others put it at 10.
"Technically, it is not possible for such a thing to happen. It is therefore unimaginable that somebody will die while receiving a call," commission spokesman Reuben Muoka said.
"It is only very gullible people that will believe such a rumour."
Other messages that have caused panic in the past include claims that acid rain from seasonal dust storms can burn people alive, the AP news agency reports.
Poor education and superstitious beliefs lead some Nigerians to take the messages seriously, correspondents say
Ejisu Omanhene asks politicians to focus on development issue
Ejisu (Ash) GNA – The Omanhene (Paramount Chief) of Ejisu, Nana Afrane Okesse IV, has reminded government officials about the need to focus on bringing development to the people.
He said people in public office should always put the general good of the people ahead of their personal comfort and convenience, adding that it should not be lost on them the high expectations of those who voted them into power.
They could therefore not afford to disappoint them, Nana Okesse said when Mr Kwaku Afrifa Yamoah-Ponkor; Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), paid a courtesy call on him to officially introduce himself to the chief.
The Omanhene expressed the need for traditional leaders to get involved in the development programmes of the district assemblies.
He advised the MCE to ensure openness and transparency in the performance of his duties.
Mr Yamoah-Ponkor pledged to work hard to help transform the living conditions of the people in the Municipality, adding that, he would be fair and not discriminatory.
GNA
He said people in public office should always put the general good of the people ahead of their personal comfort and convenience, adding that it should not be lost on them the high expectations of those who voted them into power.
They could therefore not afford to disappoint them, Nana Okesse said when Mr Kwaku Afrifa Yamoah-Ponkor; Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), paid a courtesy call on him to officially introduce himself to the chief.
The Omanhene expressed the need for traditional leaders to get involved in the development programmes of the district assemblies.
He advised the MCE to ensure openness and transparency in the performance of his duties.
Mr Yamoah-Ponkor pledged to work hard to help transform the living conditions of the people in the Municipality, adding that, he would be fair and not discriminatory.
GNA
Ghana Government approves pre-funding arrangement for MMDAs
Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - President John Evans Atta-Mills has approved a pre-funding arrangement with some syndicated local banks for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA) to ensure smooth operations and implementation of policies and programmes.
The pre-funding being spearheaded by National Investment Bank (NIB) would be in the form of a soft loan at low interest rates.
This arrangement would serve as a stop-gap within the three month statutory delay period for the disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), to enable the MMDAs operate effectively and efficiently, and re-imbursed the banks when the DACF funds were released.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development announced the arrangement when addressing the opening session of a Joint Decentralisation Sector Review Mission Validation workshop in Accra on Thursday.
The workshop was attended by representatives of MMDAs to validate a sector report on the performance of the effectiveness of local government process in Ghana presented by a local consultant and sponsored by the European Commission (EC).
He underscored the critical role of MMDAs in the decentralisation process to ensure that government policies and programmes were fully implemented at the local levels to effect the necessary change and ensure national development.
The Sector Minister indicated that to ensure their efficient operation, there was another arrangement for the MMDAs to have their own composite budget.
“Under this arrangement, MMDAs would now prepare their budgets stating their areas of focus for support and channelling them through the Chief Executives to Central Government.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo explained that the MMDAs would now have the benefit of determining their priorities and focused areas for support than the past when Central Government determined development projects or programmes to be undertaken by the MMDAs.
He announced that the budget would now be decentralised, disbursed, monitored and evaluated at the MMDAs other than by the Central Government.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said composite budgeting would not only ensure ownership by local assemblies, but strengthen monitoring and evaluation as accountability would be done at the MMDAs level.
He said it would also promote accountability and local involvement, as the budget of MMDAs would be announced in the mass media at the local community for public scrutiny.
“This would give true meaning to decentralisation, therefore government is working hard towards ensuring a definite conclusion to the arrangement for the process to begin from December 2012,” he added.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo urged all MMDAs to hasten the drawing of their programmes and budgets for the ensuing year to be able to effectively access the loan facility.
He gave the assurance that government would put in place efforts to ensure sustainable support for implementation of decentralised policies and programmes.
Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Director of Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), commended the EC for the initiative which would serve as a check to the various MMDAs and enhance local governance at the Regional, District and local levels.
She explained that the consultant held several focus group discussions on the various thematic areas of local governance which included budgeting as a major area of concern.
“The validation of the report by participants is therefore to ensure local ownership,” she added.
Mr Ole Kragh, Consultant for the study recommended more capacity building for staff of MMDAs and strengthening of monitoring and evaluation of MMDAs programmes.
GNA
The pre-funding being spearheaded by National Investment Bank (NIB) would be in the form of a soft loan at low interest rates.
This arrangement would serve as a stop-gap within the three month statutory delay period for the disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), to enable the MMDAs operate effectively and efficiently, and re-imbursed the banks when the DACF funds were released.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development announced the arrangement when addressing the opening session of a Joint Decentralisation Sector Review Mission Validation workshop in Accra on Thursday.
The workshop was attended by representatives of MMDAs to validate a sector report on the performance of the effectiveness of local government process in Ghana presented by a local consultant and sponsored by the European Commission (EC).
He underscored the critical role of MMDAs in the decentralisation process to ensure that government policies and programmes were fully implemented at the local levels to effect the necessary change and ensure national development.
The Sector Minister indicated that to ensure their efficient operation, there was another arrangement for the MMDAs to have their own composite budget.
“Under this arrangement, MMDAs would now prepare their budgets stating their areas of focus for support and channelling them through the Chief Executives to Central Government.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo explained that the MMDAs would now have the benefit of determining their priorities and focused areas for support than the past when Central Government determined development projects or programmes to be undertaken by the MMDAs.
He announced that the budget would now be decentralised, disbursed, monitored and evaluated at the MMDAs other than by the Central Government.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said composite budgeting would not only ensure ownership by local assemblies, but strengthen monitoring and evaluation as accountability would be done at the MMDAs level.
He said it would also promote accountability and local involvement, as the budget of MMDAs would be announced in the mass media at the local community for public scrutiny.
“This would give true meaning to decentralisation, therefore government is working hard towards ensuring a definite conclusion to the arrangement for the process to begin from December 2012,” he added.
Mr Ofosu-Ampofo urged all MMDAs to hasten the drawing of their programmes and budgets for the ensuing year to be able to effectively access the loan facility.
He gave the assurance that government would put in place efforts to ensure sustainable support for implementation of decentralised policies and programmes.
Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Director of Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), commended the EC for the initiative which would serve as a check to the various MMDAs and enhance local governance at the Regional, District and local levels.
She explained that the consultant held several focus group discussions on the various thematic areas of local governance which included budgeting as a major area of concern.
“The validation of the report by participants is therefore to ensure local ownership,” she added.
Mr Ole Kragh, Consultant for the study recommended more capacity building for staff of MMDAs and strengthening of monitoring and evaluation of MMDAs programmes.
GNA
Rogue trader weeps over $2b loss
LONDON: A tearful Kweku Adoboli, the alleged rogue trader at the centre of a $US2 billion ($1.93 billion) loss at Swiss bank UBS, has appeared in a London court facing charges of fraud and false accounting dating back to 2008.
A clerk at the City of London Magistrates' Court handed the 31-year-old Ghanaian a tissue as the 15-minute proceedings began, after which the one-time star trader was led away in handcuffs to remain in custody until a bail hearing on Thursday.
The timescale of the allegations will raise questions about risk-management procedures at the bank, put intense pressure on the chief executive, Oswald Grubel, and support calls from some Swiss politicians for the bank to leave its investment-banking business, putting thousands of London jobs at risk.
Many UBS bankers already fear for their year-end bonuses.
Smiling at times, Mr Adoboli spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth in court.
The Swiss bank refused to add to the statement it issued on Thursday, when it revealed it had called City of London Police at 1am to investigate Mr Adoboli after uncovering ''unauthorised trading''.
British-educated Mr Adoboli - whose Ghanaian passport spells his name as Kwaku - joined UBS in 2006 and was a member of the so-called Delta One trading desk where, among other things, he traded exchange-traded funds, known as ETFs.
These complex financial instruments, about which regulators warned earlier this year, are structured to mimic market movements.
Two charges allege Mr Adoboli falsified records of ETFs for personal gain or with intent to cause loss to another between October 2008 and December 2009 and then January 2010 and this month.
A third charge alleges he committed fraud between January this year and this month while he was a senior trader in global synthetic equities.
His lawyers did not issue a statement or enter pleas to the charges.
City of London Police, who arrested Mr Adoboli at his home on the edge of the City at 3.30am on Thursday, said their investigation was continuing, in ''close collaboration'' with the Financial Services Authority, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The bank, which employs 6000 staff in London, will have to pay for a detailed investigation being launched by the FSA and the Swiss regulator, Finma, into the control systems at UBS, the failures that permitted the losses to occur and details of the unauthorised trading.
The timing of the discovery of what UBS has described as ''unauthorised trading'' has mesmerised the City, as it coincided with the third anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Swiss politicians are seizing on the scandal to press the case for new banking laws.
''It shows that investment banking is a high-risk field and it's important that we clearly separate systemically important functions from the rest of the banking business,'' Caspar Baader, of the Swiss People's Party, said.
Standard & Poor's placed the bank on its CreditWatch list, citing the ''setback to UBS's efforts to rebuild its reputation … following its weak performance in 2007-09''.
Guardian News & Media
Monday, September 12, 2011
Kenya fire: Nairobi pipeline blaze 'kills at least 75'
Scores of people have died after a petrol pipeline explosion and fire in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.
The blast took place in the city's Lunga Lunga industrial area, and police and troops cordoned off the area as firefighters battled fierce flames in the surrounding shanty town.
A Red Cross official, Pamela Indiaka, said at least 75 bodies had been recovered. Some reports put the toll at more than 100 dead.
More than 110 people were injured.
The pipeline runs through the densely populated Sinai slum area between Nairobi's city centre and the airport.
'Parts of bodies'
Reports suggest the blast may have been sparked by a cigarette butt being thrown into an open sewer that was filling with fuel.
The fuel had leaked into a storm drain from the Nairobi-Mombasa pipeline, the Kenya Pipeline Company said in a statement.
Residents said the spill had prompted many people to rush and collect leaking fuel.
Parts of bodies littered the remains of burning shacks for some 300m (1,000ft) around the site of the blast, locals said.
Some of the shacks were built on top of the pipeline, residents say.
"Then there was a loud bang, a big explosion, and smoke and fire burst up high," resident Joseph Mwego told Agence France-Presse.
Bodies were also seen floating in a nearby river, into which burns victims had reportedly leapt after catching fire.
TV images showed survivors staggering around in a daze, with skin peeling off their faces and arms, and schoolchildren running in all directions.
One of the survivors, Jane Mumbua, said many people were close to the pipeline at the time of the blast.
"I just heard a big blast and that's when I started seeing people on fire. All around me there was fire," she said.
Gadhafi's son al-Saadi flees to Niger
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — A convoy carrying ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son al-Saadi has crossed into neighboring Niger, a spokesman for Niger's government said Sunday, one of the highest-profile former regime figure to flee to the landlocked African nation.
Al-Saadi, the fugitive ruler's 37-year-old son, entered Niger in a convoy with nine other people, said Niger Justice Minister Amadou Morou. The vehicles were traveling south toward the outpost of Agadez, where other fleeing Libyan loyalists are believed to be holed up in a hotel.
"I wish to announce that one of Gadhafi's sons — al-Saadi Gadhafi — was intercepted in the north of Niger by a patrol of the Nigerien military," Morou told reporters late Sunday.
He said al-Saadi "has no status at all" in Niger, indicating that he has not been granted refugee status, which would guarantees him certain rights.
Since last week, several convoys carrying senior officials of the former Libyan regime as well as civilians and soldiers have made their way across the porous desert border into Niger. Among them were several of Gadhafi's top military officers, including his chief of security and the head of his southern command.
Niger has faced increasing scrutiny for allowing the former regime members onto its soil, and al-Saadi's arrival will likely intensify international pressure on the country to cooperate with Libya's new rulers. They want all Gadhafi's sons — and Gadhafi himself, who is on the run — to be turned over for trial.
Last week, the U.S. urged Niger to detain any individuals who may be subject to prosecution in Libya, as well as to confiscate their weapons and impound any state property, such as money or jewels, that were illegally taken out of the country.
While some senior former regime officials have managed to escape, Libya's new leaders have arrested several former high ranking regime officials since then-rebel fighters swept into Tripoli on Aug. 21, effectively bring an end to Gadhafi's nearly 42-year rule.
On Sunday, anti-Gadhafi forces in Tripoli captured the former head of the regime's external intelligence service, Abu Zayd Dourda, said Anes Sharif, a spokesman for Tripoli's military council. A longtime Gadhafi insider, Dourda also served as prime minister in the 1990s.
As Libya's new leaders move to exert their authority in Tripoli, forces loyal to Gadhafi continue to hold out in three strongholds — Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, Sabha in the southern desert, and Bani Walid southeast of Tripoli.
Revolutionary forces battled their way back into Bani Walid Sunday, seizing control of the northern half of the town and fighting supporters of the fugitive dictator in the town center.
After a week of efforts to negotiate a peaceful surrender of Bani Walid, anti-regime fighters launched a two-pronged assault on the town that soon dissolved into street fighting. But Gadhafi supporters have put up fierce resistance, and forced former rebels to retreat Saturday amid a barrage of rocket and mortar fire.
Libyan fighters pushed back into the town Sunday, a day after retreating under heavy fire, said fighter Sobhi Warfali. He said revolutionary forces now control the northern half of the town and were battling regime loyalists in the center.
Resident Khalifa al-Talisi said "the rebels don't control the center yet, but everything from the city center to this (northern) side is liberated."
Around a mile (kilometer and a half) from the town center, a cluster of abandoned houses in the desert showed signs of fierce fighting. The charred hulk of a car stood in front of a still-burning home that sent plumes of black smoke into the air.
Single gunshots, which appeared to be from snipers, occasionally echoed across the dusty town, and the thud of mortar fire shook the ground.
"The Gadhafi loyalists are throwing mortars and snipers are shooting at us from the center of the city," said Abdul-Bari al-Mitag, a 23-year-old fighter returning from the front line.
Abdullah Kenshil, a negotiator for the former rebels, said loyalist forces that withdrew from several cities after the fall of Tripoli have regrouped in Bani Walid.
"For them, it is a matter of life or death," he said. "They don't care if residents are killed in the middle."
Kenshil also said Gadhafi forces killed two tribal leaders who had taken part in talks to end the standoff peacefully. That could not be independently verified. Despite the bloodshed, Kenshil said, "the door for peace is still open."
NATO, which has played a key role in hitting Gadhafi's forces over the six-month civil war, said Sunday that its warplanes hit a series of targets near Bani Walid a day earlier — a tank, two armed vehicles and one multiple rocket launcher. Airstrikes also pounded targets around Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, and the towns of Waddan and Sabha in the southern desert.
Libya's new leaders have also been trying to broker a deal for the surrender of Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown. But a deadline for the town's surrender expired Saturday, and a revolutionary commander taking part in the negotiations, Mustafa al-Rubaie, said "now all options are open."
Libyan fighters have advanced to within 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Sirte, and in the east as far as the town of Harawa, some 35 miles (50 kilometers) from the city, according to al-Rubaie.
He said fighters from Harawa will lead the force into Sirte "because they are from the city and they are part of the Sirte people."
"I think it will not be a 100 percent peaceful takeover of Sirte. There will be pockets of loyalists," he said. "In general, the people of Sirte are all armed with light weapons, even youngsters."
Al-Rubaie said that over the past months, Gadhafi's forces which fled from all the eastern cities and from Misrata are all now concentrating in Sirte.
"We know that they are not going to give up easily," he said. "For them, it will be a matter of life or death."
In Tripoli, acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said Libya's new leaders are making efforts to pay government salaries on time and would add unspecified bonuses to August salaries.
Jibril also said oil production has resumed at one field in Libya's east. He did not say which field, how much oil is being produced or when oil and gas exports, which were halted during the war, are expected to resume.
Jibril said the former rebels have received more than $800 million dollars in Gadhafi-era frozen assets from Britain and were waiting for another payment of more than $500 million in the near future.
Al-Saadi, the fugitive ruler's 37-year-old son, entered Niger in a convoy with nine other people, said Niger Justice Minister Amadou Morou. The vehicles were traveling south toward the outpost of Agadez, where other fleeing Libyan loyalists are believed to be holed up in a hotel.
"I wish to announce that one of Gadhafi's sons — al-Saadi Gadhafi — was intercepted in the north of Niger by a patrol of the Nigerien military," Morou told reporters late Sunday.
He said al-Saadi "has no status at all" in Niger, indicating that he has not been granted refugee status, which would guarantees him certain rights.
Since last week, several convoys carrying senior officials of the former Libyan regime as well as civilians and soldiers have made their way across the porous desert border into Niger. Among them were several of Gadhafi's top military officers, including his chief of security and the head of his southern command.
Niger has faced increasing scrutiny for allowing the former regime members onto its soil, and al-Saadi's arrival will likely intensify international pressure on the country to cooperate with Libya's new rulers. They want all Gadhafi's sons — and Gadhafi himself, who is on the run — to be turned over for trial.
Last week, the U.S. urged Niger to detain any individuals who may be subject to prosecution in Libya, as well as to confiscate their weapons and impound any state property, such as money or jewels, that were illegally taken out of the country.
While some senior former regime officials have managed to escape, Libya's new leaders have arrested several former high ranking regime officials since then-rebel fighters swept into Tripoli on Aug. 21, effectively bring an end to Gadhafi's nearly 42-year rule.
On Sunday, anti-Gadhafi forces in Tripoli captured the former head of the regime's external intelligence service, Abu Zayd Dourda, said Anes Sharif, a spokesman for Tripoli's military council. A longtime Gadhafi insider, Dourda also served as prime minister in the 1990s.
As Libya's new leaders move to exert their authority in Tripoli, forces loyal to Gadhafi continue to hold out in three strongholds — Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, Sabha in the southern desert, and Bani Walid southeast of Tripoli.
Revolutionary forces battled their way back into Bani Walid Sunday, seizing control of the northern half of the town and fighting supporters of the fugitive dictator in the town center.
After a week of efforts to negotiate a peaceful surrender of Bani Walid, anti-regime fighters launched a two-pronged assault on the town that soon dissolved into street fighting. But Gadhafi supporters have put up fierce resistance, and forced former rebels to retreat Saturday amid a barrage of rocket and mortar fire.
Libyan fighters pushed back into the town Sunday, a day after retreating under heavy fire, said fighter Sobhi Warfali. He said revolutionary forces now control the northern half of the town and were battling regime loyalists in the center.
Resident Khalifa al-Talisi said "the rebels don't control the center yet, but everything from the city center to this (northern) side is liberated."
Around a mile (kilometer and a half) from the town center, a cluster of abandoned houses in the desert showed signs of fierce fighting. The charred hulk of a car stood in front of a still-burning home that sent plumes of black smoke into the air.
Single gunshots, which appeared to be from snipers, occasionally echoed across the dusty town, and the thud of mortar fire shook the ground.
"The Gadhafi loyalists are throwing mortars and snipers are shooting at us from the center of the city," said Abdul-Bari al-Mitag, a 23-year-old fighter returning from the front line.
Abdullah Kenshil, a negotiator for the former rebels, said loyalist forces that withdrew from several cities after the fall of Tripoli have regrouped in Bani Walid.
"For them, it is a matter of life or death," he said. "They don't care if residents are killed in the middle."
Kenshil also said Gadhafi forces killed two tribal leaders who had taken part in talks to end the standoff peacefully. That could not be independently verified. Despite the bloodshed, Kenshil said, "the door for peace is still open."
NATO, which has played a key role in hitting Gadhafi's forces over the six-month civil war, said Sunday that its warplanes hit a series of targets near Bani Walid a day earlier — a tank, two armed vehicles and one multiple rocket launcher. Airstrikes also pounded targets around Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, and the towns of Waddan and Sabha in the southern desert.
Libya's new leaders have also been trying to broker a deal for the surrender of Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown. But a deadline for the town's surrender expired Saturday, and a revolutionary commander taking part in the negotiations, Mustafa al-Rubaie, said "now all options are open."
Libyan fighters have advanced to within 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Sirte, and in the east as far as the town of Harawa, some 35 miles (50 kilometers) from the city, according to al-Rubaie.
He said fighters from Harawa will lead the force into Sirte "because they are from the city and they are part of the Sirte people."
"I think it will not be a 100 percent peaceful takeover of Sirte. There will be pockets of loyalists," he said. "In general, the people of Sirte are all armed with light weapons, even youngsters."
Al-Rubaie said that over the past months, Gadhafi's forces which fled from all the eastern cities and from Misrata are all now concentrating in Sirte.
"We know that they are not going to give up easily," he said. "For them, it will be a matter of life or death."
In Tripoli, acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said Libya's new leaders are making efforts to pay government salaries on time and would add unspecified bonuses to August salaries.
Jibril also said oil production has resumed at one field in Libya's east. He did not say which field, how much oil is being produced or when oil and gas exports, which were halted during the war, are expected to resume.
Jibril said the former rebels have received more than $800 million dollars in Gadhafi-era frozen assets from Britain and were waiting for another payment of more than $500 million in the near future.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Ghana recognises Libyan National Transitional Council
Accra, Ghana - Ghana on Friday announced that it has extended diplomatic recognition to the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate ruling authority in that country.
In an official statement here, the Deputy Minister of Information, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said in arriving at the decision, the government had “taken due account of the political and security situation in Libya particularly, the NTC’s effective control over a greater part of the country and the commitment of the NTC to democratic and pluralistic elections”.
Ghana called on the NTC “to work towards a fast and smooth transition to constitutional and democratic governance and ensure the safety and protection of African immigrants in Libya”.
The NTC now controls nearly all of the North African country and plans to start operating from Tripoli, the Libyan capital, soon.
In an official statement here, the Deputy Minister of Information, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said in arriving at the decision, the government had “taken due account of the political and security situation in Libya particularly, the NTC’s effective control over a greater part of the country and the commitment of the NTC to democratic and pluralistic elections”.
Ghana called on the NTC “to work towards a fast and smooth transition to constitutional and democratic governance and ensure the safety and protection of African immigrants in Libya”.
The NTC now controls nearly all of the North African country and plans to start operating from Tripoli, the Libyan capital, soon.
Ferry with 500 plus passengers sinks off Tanzania
ZANZIBAR (Reuters) - A ferry carrying more than 500 passengers from Zanzibar to Pemba island off the east African country of Tanzania has capsized and scores of people are missing, police said on Saturday.
Zanzibar, also known as Unguja, and Pemba are the two main islands of the Zanzibar archipelago, a popular destination for tourists visiting their pristine white Indian Ocean beaches.
"The ship's manifest shows that the vessel traveling from Unguja to Pemba islands had more than 500 passengers on board," Zanzibar Police Commissioner Mussa Alli Mussa told Reuters.
"Some 260 passengers have so far been rescued ... we have recovered several bodies but I can't give you the exact death toll at the moment because the situation is very volatile," he said.
Pemba is about 40 km (25 miles) from Zanzibar. Passengers who regularly take ferries between the two islands said the vessels are in a poor state of repair and are often overcrowded and loaded with cargo.
"They normally pack us in like sardines in a can. And for that I really fear this could be a very big disaster," said resident Mwnakhamis Juma.
The government in Zanzibar said last month it planned to invest in bigger, more reliable vessels to ferry passengers between the two islands.
"We are fearing the greatest calamity in the history of Zanzibar. This is a disaster," said a government official, who declined to be named.
Two small overloaded boats capsized and were swept away in high seas off Tanzania's coast in January this year and in May 2009, a vessel just off Zanzibar sank with dozens aboard, killing six.
Mussa said rescue workers with the aid of some fishing boats in the area were helping to rescue more passengers and recover bodies to bring them to Zanzibar's main town for post-mortems and identification.
"Because of strong ocean winds, some of the bodies could even be washed up in Tanga (mainland Tanzania)," he said. "The cause of the accident cannot be confirmed at the moment."
A parent in Mkoani on Pemba island was already mourning his three children, who were aboard the vessel capsized MV Spice.
"I had two sons and a daughter coming back to Pemba from a school holiday break ... and I am fearing for the worse," said Juma Bakar
Zanzibar, also known as Unguja, and Pemba are the two main islands of the Zanzibar archipelago, a popular destination for tourists visiting their pristine white Indian Ocean beaches.
"The ship's manifest shows that the vessel traveling from Unguja to Pemba islands had more than 500 passengers on board," Zanzibar Police Commissioner Mussa Alli Mussa told Reuters.
"Some 260 passengers have so far been rescued ... we have recovered several bodies but I can't give you the exact death toll at the moment because the situation is very volatile," he said.
Pemba is about 40 km (25 miles) from Zanzibar. Passengers who regularly take ferries between the two islands said the vessels are in a poor state of repair and are often overcrowded and loaded with cargo.
"They normally pack us in like sardines in a can. And for that I really fear this could be a very big disaster," said resident Mwnakhamis Juma.
The government in Zanzibar said last month it planned to invest in bigger, more reliable vessels to ferry passengers between the two islands.
"We are fearing the greatest calamity in the history of Zanzibar. This is a disaster," said a government official, who declined to be named.
Two small overloaded boats capsized and were swept away in high seas off Tanzania's coast in January this year and in May 2009, a vessel just off Zanzibar sank with dozens aboard, killing six.
Mussa said rescue workers with the aid of some fishing boats in the area were helping to rescue more passengers and recover bodies to bring them to Zanzibar's main town for post-mortems and identification.
"Because of strong ocean winds, some of the bodies could even be washed up in Tanga (mainland Tanzania)," he said. "The cause of the accident cannot be confirmed at the moment."
A parent in Mkoani on Pemba island was already mourning his three children, who were aboard the vessel capsized MV Spice.
"I had two sons and a daughter coming back to Pemba from a school holiday break ... and I am fearing for the worse," said Juma Bakar
Friday, September 9, 2011
Ghana Law May Require State Approval for Oil Loans
Bloomberg
The Ghanaian government may require oil companies to seek its approval before obtaining loans for their operations if a draft petroleum exploration and production bill becomes law, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
A section of the law, to be debated by the lawmakers, said that loans taken by contractors must be approved by the minister of energy, Darcy White, a tax leader at the company’s Ghana office, said in a presentation on the bill at a meeting in Accra today.
“That can delay efforts,” he said, citing a lack of provisions in the draft policy for a loan-approval timeline. Interest on loans will be treated as a non-deductible expense on taxes, according to White.
Ghana became Africa’s newest oil exporter in December with the start of production at its offshore Jubilee oil field. Companies including London-based Tullow Oil Plc (TLW), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) of The Woodlands, Texas and Eni SpA (ENI) of Rome operate in the West African nation.
The draft law will be presented to lawmakers when Parliament returns from its recess next month, Moses Asaga, chairman of the parliamentary sub-committee on mines and energy, said in a telephone interview today. He declined to give details on the policy.
The requirement may be meant to ensure that international oil companies procure only loans that are competitive, Alex Mould, chief executive officer of Ghana’s fuel-retailing regulator National Petroleum Authority, said at the forum.
The Ghanaian government may require oil companies to seek its approval before obtaining loans for their operations if a draft petroleum exploration and production bill becomes law, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
A section of the law, to be debated by the lawmakers, said that loans taken by contractors must be approved by the minister of energy, Darcy White, a tax leader at the company’s Ghana office, said in a presentation on the bill at a meeting in Accra today.
“That can delay efforts,” he said, citing a lack of provisions in the draft policy for a loan-approval timeline. Interest on loans will be treated as a non-deductible expense on taxes, according to White.
Ghana became Africa’s newest oil exporter in December with the start of production at its offshore Jubilee oil field. Companies including London-based Tullow Oil Plc (TLW), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) of The Woodlands, Texas and Eni SpA (ENI) of Rome operate in the West African nation.
The draft law will be presented to lawmakers when Parliament returns from its recess next month, Moses Asaga, chairman of the parliamentary sub-committee on mines and energy, said in a telephone interview today. He declined to give details on the policy.
The requirement may be meant to ensure that international oil companies procure only loans that are competitive, Alex Mould, chief executive officer of Ghana’s fuel-retailing regulator National Petroleum Authority, said at the forum.
NDC Has No Shame - Kufuor
Modern Ghana
FORMER PRESIDENT John Agyekum Kufuor has finally broken his silence on government's decision to purchase five planes for the military, describing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as 'people who have no shame.'
'The NDC has no shame…they vehemently opposed, criticized and protested against our (NPP) decision to purchase only two planes for the same military but immediately they assumed office they said they were going to purchase not even two but five…can you imagine?' he asked Ghanaians.
President Kufuor was speaking at his residence in Accra when the Traders Union of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from Kaneshie Market called on him to congratulate him on his World Food Programme Award.
He said the deal the NPP entered into in efforts to retool the military was the best for the country adding 'in our time the cost of one plane was around $39 and $40 million but theirs is around $55milion which can't even be compared to ours.'
'The NPP's plane could travel from Ghana to New York non-stop. It could use six hours to London, Germany and other places. The NDC's has to stop in the middle of the way,'
'In our time, the NDC's propaganda was that Ghanaians were suffering and things were hard…these conditions they claimed were their reason for opposing the purchase…have they changed now…it is still the same if not worse.'
On the Jubilee House (Presidential Palace) which the NDC has reverted name to the name Flagstaff House, Mr. Kufuor said 'it is their (NDC's) hypocrisy which is making the Mills/Mahama government hesitant to use the facility.'
'When we were constructing the facility, the NDC attacked our government and my personality and even went to the extent of saying they will use the place for poultry farm and it is because of the bad things said about the project that they are feeling shy to use it.'
On the politics of insults, the former President Kufuor advised the NPP not to get involved but rather address issues and not personalities.
He said he did not subscribe to the menace adding that it was a very dangerous trend. 'Where we have reached as a country, we need sensible argument on issues not on personalities and insults.'
He recalled how NDC bigwigs like Alban Bagbin, Tony Aidoo and Ama Benyiwa Doe went on an insults spree and making unsubstantiated allegations against him and his appointees and succeeded in throwing dust into the eyes of the good public.
'We should not let them drag us into their politics of insults or join their gutter politics. Don't forget that if you have a notorious sibling, you would always be inundated with trouble but it is up to you to keep your head above the water.'
He said the NDC's style of politics during the NPP regime was counter-productive to the nurturing of democracy and development saying 'our opponents were obstructing every good thing we were doing without justification.'
He said the NPP brought laudable social intervention programmes like free maternity health care, national health insurance, school feeding programme, mass transportation programme, impressive infrastructural projects and the model schools concept but the NDC is collapsing all of them.
'We are happy that most Ghanaians are now aware of the NDCs tricks and could not been easily be deceived.'
When Daily Guide asked him when he would hit the campaign trail, Mr. Kufuor said 'I have already joined the campaign trail. I am always there and I am very much involved but in a different strategy. In fact Nana and I are constantly in touch.'
'I give him advice and he takes my advice. I want to assure you that Nana's chances are bright. I am confident he will make a good candidate in 2012.'
Members of the union took turns appealing to ex-President Kufour to use his vast experience to admonish the NPP leadership to foster unity within the party.
Yaw Sekyere, Chairman of the union said the AMA guards were making life difficult for ordinary traders and appealed for restraint.
By Stella Danso Addai
BMW Saloon gift to Mr Joe Gidisu, Minister of Roads and Highways, from a Chinese construction firm
Accra, Sept. 9, GNA- Mr Solomon Nkansah, Deputy Propaganda Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has reaffirmed government’s position that the BMW saloon car received by Mr Joe Gidisu, Minister of Roads and Highways, from a Chinese construction firm, was strictly for his official use.
He said the car was bought by an agency under the Ministry, that is, the Ghana Highways Authority, with documents covering the request and the delivery of the vehicle to the Ghana Highways Authority on behalf of the Ministry.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Nkansah noted that upon reports that the car was meant to bribe the Minister, President Mills advised that the vehicle should be surrendered to the state.
The Deputy Propaganda Secretary said President Mills has established an office of accountability with the aim of ensuring transparency and reducing corruption in government sectors especially, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
He noted that President Mills does not view ‘zero tolerance of corruption’ as mere a rhetoric as he constantly reminds his Ministers to discharge their duties with fairness and that any Minister who falls foul of the law, would be dealt with without fear or favour.
Mr Nkansah said the resignation of Mr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, former Minister of Health, after being cited in the Mabey and Johnson bribery saga and Mr Muntaka Mubarak, former Minister of Youth and Sports for alleged misappropriation of funds, was an indication of the President’s resolve to fight corruption in the country.
He said the two Ministers were made to vacate their positions for pave way for investigation to ascertain the truth of the case which would serve as deterrent to potential offenders.
Mr Nkansah said the “news in the media that seem to portray Mr Joe Gidisu as taking bribe from the Chinese firm was a deliberate plot by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to throw dust into the eyes of the public” adding, the President and Minister should be applauded for that bold step.
He said the NPP Government introduced the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) and the Venture Capital where there was no accountability.
Mr Nkansah said President Mills was deemed as slow because” he is an embodiment of law” and the law is an act that grinds slowly and would not rush adding, there was an improvement under the Mill’s government as compared to the NPP government in the entire sector of the economy.
He said under the tenure of the Mills administration, there has been an improvement in the road sector and that work is underway on the Legon-Adenta road construction among others.
Mr Nkansah said in the Western Region, the Tarkwa- Ayamfori road is under construction for 98 million dollars while the Enchi- Asankragua road is also under construction for 48 million dollars.
He said the Secondi Takoradi road expansion which was captured in the 3 billion dollar loan agreement would give the region a new lease of life in development adding, 500 million dollars of the loan would be used to lay pipes from Bonyere to the Aboadzi Thermal plant and help reduce electricity tariffs in the country.
Reacting on the graduates’ unemployment, he said government is reactivating the Ghana Consolidated Diamond Limited in Akwatia, the Kumasi Shoe factory, Tomato Cannery at Pwalugu, and resuscitating Darko Farms and the Aveyime Rice Projects to provide employment for the youth.
He stressed that for a nation to be industrialized, there was the need to have a strong and booming agricultural sector.
Mr Nkansah said President Mills’ administration has initiated Mathematics, Science and Technology scholarship scheme of which 41,000 Ghanaian students are benefiting.
He noted that President Mills as chairman of the economic management team in 1997, established 110 Science Resource Centres and has now started the computer laboratory project to facilitate Information Communication and Technology which is the fastest growing industry in the world.
According to him, the 2012 election would be won by performance since the NDC Government had invested in the country’s human resource base and said the NPP government came to “do visual politics, erecting bill boards”.
GNA
NDC Has No Shame - Kufuor
Mosern Ghana
FORMER PRESIDENT John Agyekum Kufuor has finally broken his silence on government's decision to purchase five planes for the military, describing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as 'people who have no shame.'
'The NDC has no shame…they vehemently opposed, criticized and protested against our (NPP) decision to purchase only two planes for the same military but immediately they assumed office they said they were going to purchase not even two but five…can you imagine?' he asked Ghanaians.
President Kufuor was speaking at his residence in Accra when the Traders Union of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from Kaneshie Market called on him to congratulate him on his World Food Programme Award.
He said the deal the NPP entered into in efforts to retool the military was the best for the country adding 'in our time the cost of one plane was around $39 and $40 million but theirs is around $55milion which can't even be compared to ours.'
'The NPP's plane could travel from Ghana to New York non-stop. It could use six hours to London, Germany and other places. The NDC's has to stop in the middle of the way,'
'In our time, the NDC's propaganda was that Ghanaians were suffering and things were hard…these conditions they claimed were their reason for opposing the purchase…have they changed now…it is still the same if not worse.'
On the Jubilee House (Presidential Palace) which the NDC has reverted name to the name Flagstaff House, Mr. Kufuor said 'it is their (NDC's) hypocrisy which is making the Mills/Mahama government hesitant to use the facility.'
'When we were constructing the facility, the NDC attacked our government and my personality and even went to the extent of saying they will use the place for poultry farm and it is because of the bad things said about the project that they are feeling shy to use it.'
On the politics of insults, the former President Kufuor advised the NPP not to get involved but rather address issues and not personalities.
He said he did not subscribe to the menace adding that it was a very dangerous trend. 'Where we have reached as a country, we need sensible argument on issues not on personalities and insults.'
He recalled how NDC bigwigs like Alban Bagbin, Tony Aidoo and Ama Benyiwa Doe went on an insults spree and making unsubstantiated allegations against him and his appointees and succeeded in throwing dust into the eyes of the good public.
'We should not let them drag us into their politics of insults or join their gutter politics. Don't forget that if you have a notorious sibling, you would always be inundated with trouble but it is up to you to keep your head above the water.'
He said the NDC's style of politics during the NPP regime was counter-productive to the nurturing of democracy and development saying 'our opponents were obstructing every good thing we were doing without justification.'
He said the NPP brought laudable social intervention programmes like free maternity health care, national health insurance, school feeding programme, mass transportation programme, impressive infrastructural projects and the model schools concept but the NDC is collapsing all of them.
'We are happy that most Ghanaians are now aware of the NDCs tricks and could not been easily be deceived.'
When Daily Guide asked him when he would hit the campaign trail, Mr. Kufuor said 'I have already joined the campaign trail. I am always there and I am very much involved but in a different strategy. In fact Nana and I are constantly in touch.'
'I give him advice and he takes my advice. I want to assure you that Nana's chances are bright. I am confident he will make a good candidate in 2012.'
Members of the union took turns appealing to ex-President Kufour to use his vast experience to admonish the NPP leadership to foster unity within the party.
Yaw Sekyere, Chairman of the union said the AMA guards were making life difficult for ordinary traders and appealed for restraint.
By Stella Danso Addai
FORMER PRESIDENT John Agyekum Kufuor has finally broken his silence on government's decision to purchase five planes for the military, describing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as 'people who have no shame.'
'The NDC has no shame…they vehemently opposed, criticized and protested against our (NPP) decision to purchase only two planes for the same military but immediately they assumed office they said they were going to purchase not even two but five…can you imagine?' he asked Ghanaians.
President Kufuor was speaking at his residence in Accra when the Traders Union of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from Kaneshie Market called on him to congratulate him on his World Food Programme Award.
He said the deal the NPP entered into in efforts to retool the military was the best for the country adding 'in our time the cost of one plane was around $39 and $40 million but theirs is around $55milion which can't even be compared to ours.'
'The NPP's plane could travel from Ghana to New York non-stop. It could use six hours to London, Germany and other places. The NDC's has to stop in the middle of the way,'
'In our time, the NDC's propaganda was that Ghanaians were suffering and things were hard…these conditions they claimed were their reason for opposing the purchase…have they changed now…it is still the same if not worse.'
On the Jubilee House (Presidential Palace) which the NDC has reverted name to the name Flagstaff House, Mr. Kufuor said 'it is their (NDC's) hypocrisy which is making the Mills/Mahama government hesitant to use the facility.'
'When we were constructing the facility, the NDC attacked our government and my personality and even went to the extent of saying they will use the place for poultry farm and it is because of the bad things said about the project that they are feeling shy to use it.'
On the politics of insults, the former President Kufuor advised the NPP not to get involved but rather address issues and not personalities.
He said he did not subscribe to the menace adding that it was a very dangerous trend. 'Where we have reached as a country, we need sensible argument on issues not on personalities and insults.'
He recalled how NDC bigwigs like Alban Bagbin, Tony Aidoo and Ama Benyiwa Doe went on an insults spree and making unsubstantiated allegations against him and his appointees and succeeded in throwing dust into the eyes of the good public.
'We should not let them drag us into their politics of insults or join their gutter politics. Don't forget that if you have a notorious sibling, you would always be inundated with trouble but it is up to you to keep your head above the water.'
He said the NDC's style of politics during the NPP regime was counter-productive to the nurturing of democracy and development saying 'our opponents were obstructing every good thing we were doing without justification.'
He said the NPP brought laudable social intervention programmes like free maternity health care, national health insurance, school feeding programme, mass transportation programme, impressive infrastructural projects and the model schools concept but the NDC is collapsing all of them.
'We are happy that most Ghanaians are now aware of the NDCs tricks and could not been easily be deceived.'
When Daily Guide asked him when he would hit the campaign trail, Mr. Kufuor said 'I have already joined the campaign trail. I am always there and I am very much involved but in a different strategy. In fact Nana and I are constantly in touch.'
'I give him advice and he takes my advice. I want to assure you that Nana's chances are bright. I am confident he will make a good candidate in 2012.'
Members of the union took turns appealing to ex-President Kufour to use his vast experience to admonish the NPP leadership to foster unity within the party.
Yaw Sekyere, Chairman of the union said the AMA guards were making life difficult for ordinary traders and appealed for restraint.
By Stella Danso Addai
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
President urges chief executives to ensure access to sanitation facilities
Accra, Sept. 5, GNA – President John Evans Atta Mills on Monday tasked Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to implement bye-laws that would ensure that every Ghanaian household have access to appropriate sanitation facilities.
In addition, the assemblies should co-ordinate their policies and projects in harmony with the Local Government Act (Act 462) and National Development Planning Systems Act (ACT 480), to eliminate the prevalent incidence of households without sanitary facilities.
President Mills gave the directive in a speech read on his behalf at the on-going three–day Third Ghana Water Forum organised by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing in Accra.
It is on the theme: “Water and Sanitation Services Delivery in a Rapidly Changing Urban Environment.”
President Mills advised members of the Assemblies and their Regional Co-ordinating Councils to implement the Community-led Total Sanitation approach as well as the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes to address the deplorable sanitation problems facing the country.
“This will give a quantum leap towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on sanitation,” he said.
President Mills said though the required MDG target for water was 76 per cent and 53 per cent for sanitation, government was committed towards exceeding the set target for 2015.
“…Government will spare no effort to ensure that we do better than the targets set for us by 2015. Government’s target is 85 per cent by 2015.”
President Mills expressed the hope that completion of water projects supported by the World Bank and China would “see a rapid improvement in the delivery of water supply to urban centres”.
Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, Associate Professor at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, called for a “Water Fund” to serve as a safety net to cater for the marginalised and disadvantaged in the society who could not afford to pay for water.
“My preference is for a Water Fund along the lines of the Ghana Education Trust Fund and the Road Fund,” he said.
Prof Ahwoi said Ghana’s rapidly changing urban population meant that the country could not continue to use systems that were designed to provide water and sanitation services to an urban population that was half the number of the current population at the time they were designed.
He observed that major problems of urban water supply and sanitation services were that the two sectors, together with environmental hygiene, were not holistically managed and controlled.
Prof Ahwoi, said: “The monopolistic control of urban water supply by Ghana Water Company Limited and the phenomenon of ‘human settlement before planning’ made it difficult for water providers to plan for future water and sanitation needs.
He said there was the need to decentralise the water and sanitation sector in order to manage the local level with the participation of the citizenry.
Prof Ahwoi proposed the production, transmission and distribution of water to be undertaken by different bodies or organisations.
He called for ‘regionalisation’ of urban water supply and management by clustering urban settlements around water production and treatment sources.
Prof Ahwoi was optimistic that introduction of a public private partnership system would inject competition and efficiency in the water sector.
In addition, the assemblies should co-ordinate their policies and projects in harmony with the Local Government Act (Act 462) and National Development Planning Systems Act (ACT 480), to eliminate the prevalent incidence of households without sanitary facilities.
President Mills gave the directive in a speech read on his behalf at the on-going three–day Third Ghana Water Forum organised by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing in Accra.
It is on the theme: “Water and Sanitation Services Delivery in a Rapidly Changing Urban Environment.”
President Mills advised members of the Assemblies and their Regional Co-ordinating Councils to implement the Community-led Total Sanitation approach as well as the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes to address the deplorable sanitation problems facing the country.
“This will give a quantum leap towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on sanitation,” he said.
President Mills said though the required MDG target for water was 76 per cent and 53 per cent for sanitation, government was committed towards exceeding the set target for 2015.
“…Government will spare no effort to ensure that we do better than the targets set for us by 2015. Government’s target is 85 per cent by 2015.”
President Mills expressed the hope that completion of water projects supported by the World Bank and China would “see a rapid improvement in the delivery of water supply to urban centres”.
Professor Kwamena Ahwoi, Associate Professor at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, called for a “Water Fund” to serve as a safety net to cater for the marginalised and disadvantaged in the society who could not afford to pay for water.
“My preference is for a Water Fund along the lines of the Ghana Education Trust Fund and the Road Fund,” he said.
Prof Ahwoi said Ghana’s rapidly changing urban population meant that the country could not continue to use systems that were designed to provide water and sanitation services to an urban population that was half the number of the current population at the time they were designed.
He observed that major problems of urban water supply and sanitation services were that the two sectors, together with environmental hygiene, were not holistically managed and controlled.
Prof Ahwoi, said: “The monopolistic control of urban water supply by Ghana Water Company Limited and the phenomenon of ‘human settlement before planning’ made it difficult for water providers to plan for future water and sanitation needs.
He said there was the need to decentralise the water and sanitation sector in order to manage the local level with the participation of the citizenry.
Prof Ahwoi proposed the production, transmission and distribution of water to be undertaken by different bodies or organisations.
He called for ‘regionalisation’ of urban water supply and management by clustering urban settlements around water production and treatment sources.
Prof Ahwoi was optimistic that introduction of a public private partnership system would inject competition and efficiency in the water sector.
Nigeria deports 115 illegal aliens amid security clampdown
Nigerian authorities have in recent days deported 115 illegal immigrants from the northern city of Kano amid increased security after an attack on UN headquarters in the country, an official said Monday.
Authorities however declined to comment on whether the deportations were linked to the August 26 bomb attack at the UN in Abuja or other violence blamed on an Islamist sect in the country's northeast.
"We have so far repatriated 115 illegal aliens from five West African countries that have been staying without valid papers despite repeated calls for them to document their stay with the immigration service," Umar Nasir, spokesman for the Nigeria Immigration Service in Kano, told AFP.
The expelled immigrants were from Niger, Chad, Togo, Cameroon and Benin, Nasir said.
"The repatriation exercise, which will be a continuous process, followed the expiration of the three-month window period granted all illegal aliens from the sub-region to legalise their stay by registering with the immigration service," Nasir said.
Three more immigrants from neighbouring Niger were being held by immigration awaiting deportation, he added.
Kano immigration officials were acting on orders from their headquarters in Abuja to send back any immigrants overstaying their permits, he said.
The Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack on UN headquarters that killed at least 23 people.
There have been growing fears that Boko Haram has formed links with extremist groups outside of Nigeria. There were however no indications of a link between the deported immigrants and the Islamist group.
Authorities however declined to comment on whether the deportations were linked to the August 26 bomb attack at the UN in Abuja or other violence blamed on an Islamist sect in the country's northeast.
"We have so far repatriated 115 illegal aliens from five West African countries that have been staying without valid papers despite repeated calls for them to document their stay with the immigration service," Umar Nasir, spokesman for the Nigeria Immigration Service in Kano, told AFP.
The expelled immigrants were from Niger, Chad, Togo, Cameroon and Benin, Nasir said.
"The repatriation exercise, which will be a continuous process, followed the expiration of the three-month window period granted all illegal aliens from the sub-region to legalise their stay by registering with the immigration service," Nasir said.
Three more immigrants from neighbouring Niger were being held by immigration awaiting deportation, he added.
Kano immigration officials were acting on orders from their headquarters in Abuja to send back any immigrants overstaying their permits, he said.
The Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack on UN headquarters that killed at least 23 people.
There have been growing fears that Boko Haram has formed links with extremist groups outside of Nigeria. There were however no indications of a link between the deported immigrants and the Islamist group.
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